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The latest updates on those expected to miss the upcoming north London derby.
Arsenal remain undefeated in the Premier League so far this season but they were unable to continue their winning streak after dropping points to Brighton and Hove Albion. A controversial red card for Declan Rice marred the occasion and the Seagulls were able to deny Mikel Arteta’s side the full three points after João Pedro’s equaliser.
The Gunners are currently fourth in the table with seven points, two adrift of Manchester City and Liverpool in the two top spots. Arsenal’s next challenge after the international break will be the highly anticipated North London Derby, as they prepare to take on Tottenham Hotspur away from home.
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Fortunately, the decision to bring off Jurrien Timber against Brighton doesn’t look to spell any further bad news for the defender. Arteta played down concerns over a significant injury and he has since been called up to the Netherlands squad to face Bosnia and Herzegovina and Germany in the Nations League. However, Arsenal will still be without some key players against Spurs — let’s take a look at the latest updates on Arteta’s current injury and absence list.
Declan Rice
After picking up two yellow cards against Brighton, Rice will be forced to sit out Arsenal’s upcoming clash. The midfielder was given his marching orders after a divisive sending off last time out and Arteta must opt for an alternative in his engine room when they take on Spurs.
Gabriel Jesus
A stroke of good news for the Gunners is that Gabriel Jesus is nearing his return and could be in contention for the North London Derby. Ahead of the Brighton clash, Arteta said: “He’s progressing really well. He had a muscle injury, and he’s doing quite a lot of the stuff already, so we expect him to be with us really soon.”
Based on the promising update, Jesus could well be ready to return following the international break, but only time will confirm his fitness levels.
Mikel Merino
Arsenal’s new signing is yet to get his first minutes in the bank after picking up a shoulder injury during training. Arteta recently confirmed that Mikel Merino looked to have suffered a ‘small fracture’ and that the club were waiting on further tests to reach more ‘conclusive answers’.
Since then, Sami Mokbel has expanded on the midfielder’s situation and reported that Merino will miss ‘close to two months’ with his fractured shoulder. The Spain international is not expected to return to action until mid-October at the earliest.
Takehiro Tomiyasu
Takehiro Tomiyasu is out for a more extended period of time and right now, there is no return date in sight yet. After picking up a knee injury during training earlier in the summer, Arteta opted to leave him out of the pre-season squad as a precaution but new updates have confirmed it’s going to be a more long-term issue.
“At the moment, it is difficult to say [when he will return],” the boss said at the end of August. “It's a bit slow the process of the first phase of that injury. It's probably for the medical team to say more than that. He's not done any training yet.”
Kieran Tierney
Similar to Tomiyasu, Kieran Tierney has been out for a long stretch of time after picking up a hamstring issue. Last month, Arteta revealed that the defender will remain out of contention for ‘a few weeks’.